10 Ways To Be Productive in 10 Minutes

Near of my gratis time, except when I'm doing information technology on purpose, tends to come in short blocks. I rarely have two hours gratuitous, but might, over the grade of a work day, have those same two hours in twelve ten-minute bursts.

I realized recently that, for the nearly role, I waste all of this costless time. Since information technology'southward such a short period of time, it seems to not strike me equally worth using productively. I spend those ten minute periods doing things like staring aimlessly at the reckoner screen, picking my nose, or trying to call up what on Earth I take to do in 10 minutes. I'm a big fan of periodically doing this (zoning out for a while's my favorite way to launch back into productive work), but I started to notice that, over the form of a solar day or week, that time really does add up.

So I developed a listing of ten things to exercise with ten minutes. At present, when I've got a few minutes to spare or kill, I run downwards this listing, and do 1 or two of them – it makes my fourth dimension more productive, and tends to give me longer blocks of free time later, because I've already finished all the quick tasks that tend to pile upwardly at the end of my task list.

Make a Telephone call

Since most of u.s.a. seem to be near a phone just about 24 hours a day, and always seem to take someone we should or have to call, complimentary moments are the natural time to make a few phone calls. Only having ten minutes is a dainty bonus – it makes sure you're not going to become into some long, drawn-out conversation you'd rather not accept. Whether yous need to follow upwardly on something, make a program, or merely catch up with a friend, telephone calls can be washed apace, and anywhere.

Cook

If you've got a few minutes, make yourself some food, either for now or for later. Sometimes I'll make lunch for the next mean solar day, or merely throw together a snack for when I inevitably get hungry (commonly a bespeak when I don't have ten seconds to spare, much less x minutes). Having something around to munch on, or having the cooking procedure started, makes information technology all become faster when I need information technology to.

Nap

I'm a huge proponent of cat-naps, and anyone who says they don't work is a dirty liar. Put your head down, close your eyes, and go to sleep. Sure, you've just got x minutes, but who cares? The unproblematic human activity of closing your eyes, immigration your head and relaxing (more akin to meditation) is hugely beneficial, every bit is even a few minutes of sleep. You'll come back rejuvenated, in a better place to do more later.

Read Something

Keep a reading list somewhere accessible. I used to have a bookmarks file on my calculator chosen "Read After"; now I use Instapaper. Wherever y'all go along it, keep a list of things you lot want to read of watch, and plow through a few of them in spare moments. Applications like Instapaper are great considering they have mobile versions, just any list you lot can come up with works.

Write Emails

This is much the same as telephone calls – we've all got emails we could write, even if they're not absolutely essential this very second. For me, at to the lowest degree, I hate writing emails longer than most vi sentences, so I tend to get out them off as long as possible. I realize, though, that in ten minutes I tin can write a number of emails, and get through a expert chunk of my "Reply To" list. Makes other people happy, and makes me feel more productive. Win-win.

Strike Upwardly a Chat

If y'all've got nada to do, why not get build upward a relationship? Mayhap it's the person in your neighbor cubicle, or maybe it's the girl behind the counter at the coffee shop – whoever it is, strike up a chat. Fourth dimension flies, and who knows? You lot might just meet someone fascinating.

Make clean Upward

The single most productive affair I do in these in-between times is organize. In ten minutes, it'due south ridiculous how much filing I tin can become done, or how much e-mail purging and sorting I can get through. Option i expanse or one task, and turn through it. I try to clear my desk in x minutes, and about always detect I can. Normally I just throw everything away, simply that's beside the point. X minutes is more than than enough time to make a huge dent in even the biggest piles of junk.

Brainstorm

Brainstorming and mind mapping are great ways to spend a few spare minutes, and are dandy considering you can do either with about anything: a computer, paper, a napkin, or whatever you might discover at manus. But showtime writing stuff – what practice you take to practise? What cool ideas do you have? You'll be amazed how much comes out, and how quickly, when you only sit at that place and start writing. Or, try making a listing of 100, a list centered around a particular topic (say, Ideas for Making Millions) that's exactly 100: no more than, no less. Only having ten minutes makes the ideas fly out, and you'll be amazed how good they are.

Stumble

StumbleUpon, a website/toolbar that takes you to random webpage after random webpage, is frequently unmarried-handedly credited with the downfall of Western Civilisation. You know what? I'm absurd with that. Stumbling is a bully way to learn new things, betrayal yourself to interesting Web tidbits you'd never notice otherwise, and broaden your horizons of all things Web. Spend a few minutes with StumbleUpon, and I guarantee you'll learn something.

Journal

I kept a journal for a long time, and then stopped in one case I discovered I'm not interesting in the least. Now I wish I hadn't stopped – who knows who might one solar day notice it interesting, or when I'll want to look back? Instead of a long-class journal (though I highly recommend keeping one if information technology works for you lot), only take a few minutes and write downwards a few high- and low-lights of the day. Ordinarily, just jot downward the first few things that come to mind well-nigh your life since you wrote last. In a year, ten years, or a hundred, you'll be glad y'all did.

What do you do to fill in the blanks, and make use of these short bursts of complimentary time?

Photograph: Vahid Rahmanian

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Source: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/10-ways-to-be-productive-in-10-minutes.html

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